GLASGOW is the sunshine city as it welcomes the world to a multi-cultural melting pot of sport and art.

THE Commonwealth Games’s festival of fun begins tonight but there is already a clear winner – Glasgow.

Scotland’s largest city turned into a sun-drenched international carnival yesterday as the Games became the hottest ticket in Britain.

As the Daily Record took to the streets, the city felt like a multi-cultural melting pot of sport and the arts as athletes rubbed shoulders with musicians and actors.

First-time tourists fell for Glasgow’s sunnyday swagger as it geared up for one of the proudest moment in its history.

With the mercury rising to 86F, there was spontaneous street theatre on the banks of the Clyde as decamped Celtic fans caught trains to Edinburgh for last night’s home Champions League qualifier against KR Reykjavik.

African visitors were found at the city’s George Square looking for shelter.

Christian Pephas, 40, from Congo-Brazzaville, is visiting his Glasgow-based brother Julio. He said: “It’s too warm for me. It’s not what I was expecting of this city – it’s as hot as Africa.”

Lollo tries out Kirstina's bagpipes as team-mate Heiko watches

The population of the dear green place continues to swell with athletes, officials and sports fans.

The excitement is growing – just as it did during 1988’s Glasgow Garden Festival and 1990’s European City of Culture.

On the Broomielaw, the National Theatre of Scotland and Scottish Youth Theatre staged pop-up performances along the banks of the river, drawing curious visitors to their offbeat street shows.

Actors dressed in boilersuits honoured the bygone days of the riverside’s heavy industries while dancing to a techno version of Michael Marra’s bittersweet city anthem Mother Glasgow.

Tourists tried out the Commonwealth bikes and passing cars honked their horns in approval of the colourful display – a precursor to the opening of the Tin Forest Festival later in the evening at the South Rotunda.

As stages on Glasgow Green, Merchant City and Kelvingrove Park prepared for their opening-night parties, leafletters tried to draw audiences to more ad-hoc performances – the story of McNeill of Tranent, the unknown “world’s fastest man”, at the Old Hairdresser’s venue at Stereo cafe bar standing out among them.

Aussie podcasters Silas Moss and David Robertson with mascot Clyde

In the west end, children danced in the Kelvingrove Park’s Stewart Memorial Fountain, recalling the 1960s images of legendary photographers Harry Benson and Oscar Marzaroli. And on the south side, thousands lined the streets of Shawlands and Pollokshields as the Queen’s Baton clocked up the last few miles of its 118,000-mile global yomp.

In George Square, Australians David Robertson and Silas Moss travelled from Down Under to present an off-beat podcast from the Games as Mossy and Robbo.

“It’s crowd-funded,” said Mossy. “The people of Australia put up the money for our GlasgowGold.tv podcasts but we suspect they just wanted to get us out of the country. We’re not sure how to take that.”

Fellow antipodean and sports fanatic Debbie Gibson – a baton carrier at the Melbourne Games in 2006 – was selling badges on the street.

She said: “I’ve travelled since I was 10. I don’t travel to see landmarks, I go for the people. Selling and trading pins is what gets you talking to people and that’s what I like about it.”

Daily Record / Trinity Mirror

Natasha, three, and mum Feliftus, originally from Botswnana, had fun at the mascot's statue

Cyclist Lollo Petrus, 26, had a shot at 18-year-old Kirstina MacDonald’s bagpipes – to the amusement of his Namibian team-mate Heiko Redecker, also 26.

Philippa and John Perchard, visiting from Jersey, are supporting their son Tom, who is in the island’s triathlon team. Their pal Lesley Burgess previously thought Glasgow was “the Gorbals”.

John said: “We’ve done the museums and taken in the fantastic atmosphere.”

Philippa added: “Glasgow is much nicer than I thought it was going to be. I expected it to be dreich but look at this weather. We’re very pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere and the city.”

Teachers David McClement and Martin Lipton were basking in the sun and soaking up the city’s positive energy.

For Glasgow-based Martin, the Games are a bittersweet experience. The PE teacher was training to make the Scottish athletics team but failed to make the final cut.

He said: “I was gutted but I’ll go along to support my pals who made it.

“As a PE teacher, these Games couldn’t come at a better time for Glasgow and the west of Scotland – they will raise the profile of sport and health and fitness.”

David added: “I live in Dubai and the Games were a large part of the reason for me coming home.

“You don’t appreciate where you are from until you are away from it then you come back to this atmosphere and all these people who have Glasgow as their destination.